Lies

Nathan is starting to tell little fibs to cover up things he did or did not do. I have been trying to teach him the difference between what it true and what isn't but I was not sure he knew the difference till this evening. I was giving the boys a bath and I stepped away to clean up dinner a bit while they were happily splashing in the tub. Seconds after I leave I hear Bracken scream but by the time I was back in the bathroom he was happy and all was well. I did notice that the top of his head was a little bit red so I asked Nathan what happened. And here is what he said:

N:He just only screamed.

Me: Why what happened?

N: I wanted my tractor.

Me: So you took a toy away and that is why he cried?

N:Yes and I hit his head.

Me:Oh, what did you hit his head with, your hand?

N:No.

Me:A toy?

N:No, I didn't hit his head.

Me:You just told me that you hit his head.

N:No, I didn't. I didn't hit Bracken.

Me:Nathan which one is the lie, that you DID hit Bracken or that you DIDN't hit Bracken.

N:Um, the lie is that I didn't hit Bracken.

So at least I am sure he knows the difference between truth and lies, now I just have to impress upon him that lies are not ok.

7 Months

The little guy is growing up so FAST! He is an amazingly happy boy, I just can't get enough of his wide eyed, toothy grin. He has 2 little chompers poking up on the bottom and I absolutely love them! He finally has embraced baby food, though he still prefers it to have some chunkiness to it over straight puree. He can't get enough of graham crackers, he snarfs those things down and makes a big mess while he's at it. Bracky loves to stand as much as he can, he doesn't try to take steps he just stands. He is a sitting pro now and he is getting closer to crawling.

He is starting to thin out a bit since he is more active and easily distracted. He stops nursing with every little sound he hears or movement that he senses, especially when it involves Nathan. Bracken LOVES Nathan and Nathan LOVES Bracken. I love to stop and watch them interact it is so cute. Nathan will walk up to Brack and say "Hola guapo!"

Here are a few videos capturing some classic Bracken moments like his unique giggle and wider than wide yes.

Sunday Play Clothes

For Easter I made the boys these tie tees for their Sunday play clothes. Curtis and I stay in our Sunday clothes most of the time because it helps us stay focused on the Sabath and we usually keep the boys in their Sunday clothes as well. But I have noticed that Nathan's Sunday clothes were looking a bit worn because he is getting to the age where he plays hard and his clothes show it. I thought this was a good solution to help them remember that the Sabath is a special day while at the same time preserving their nice Sunday clothes. Nathan loves his tie tee and both the boys look adorable in them!

Yard Day!

We have needed to spend some time sprucing up our yard for a while now but every Saturday we have had something big going on that leaves little to no time for home improvements. So we declared today YARD DAY! And boy was it worth it. We spent the day pruning, trimming, raking, and pulling. For fun I set up lunch on our back porch in celebration of Yard Day and everyone had a great time out in the beatiful non-windy weather which was amazing because Prescott Valley seems to be eternally windy. Oh, and just an interesting bit of info, yesterday it was snowing. Only in Northern Arizona can you have snow one day and summer breezes the next. Gotta love it! On to Yard Day...

Nathan and Bracken were amazing. Nathan bounced around between playing with his toys, riding his scooter, asking questions about what we were doing and actually trying to help out a little bit (at the tender age of 3 he is already a weed-pulling avoider). Bracken sat happily on some blankets and entertained himself for hours at a time. There was a lot for him to watch with Nathan running around and Curtis using power tools to trim/prune our bushes and trees.

As for myself I spent about 5 hours pulling weeds.

About a 100 of those weeds were actually these

little tiny cactus sprouts. Last year the very first thing Curtis ever did in our yard was dig out all the cactus (prickly pear and above mentioned) that infected the front yard. Both Curtis and I agree that cacti are "muy feo." We are more traditional and less natural in our landscaping tastes and with little kids running around the cacti had to go. A little over a year later and they are popping up all over the front yard again. These things are hardy. But no matter how insistent they are on making our front yard their home, we will not give in and I will pull them out every year if I have to. All in all Yard Day was a huge sucess. We're all tired and we'll sleep great tonight but most of all we're sure proud of the good days work we put in.

Extended Easter

I love it when Easter falls on General Conference Weekend. It makes it extra special to hear all the wonderful talks and testimonies from our church leaders. Added plus, no Sunday headache from the craziness that is called Primary. The boys had fun digging into their baskets and I think when all was said and done Nate did about 4 different egg hunts. We kept re-hiding our eggs and everytime Nate would find one he would shake it to make sure it had something in it before placing it in his basket. Smart kid.

I decided to have the boys wear their Easter clothes the Sunday after Easter since that was when our ward was celebrating Easter with a Sacrament meeting program. Here they are decked out in their matching polo/chino ensembles.

Moments

A few pictures capturing memorable moments from our day.

Nate lounging in some new summer duds, Bracky happy and drooling, Bracky thrilled because he managed to steal away one of Nate's cars, and me with my boys just before bedtime.

I think it is safe to say...

...that Spring is here to stay!

Today I took a chance and swapped out our winter sweaters for shorts and tees!

Bracky was my llittle shadow during Nate's nap

(somehow their afternoon naps didn't line up today)

and he had a blast standing up to all the storage totes and

open drawers while I switched out the clothes.

Now our closets and dresser drawers are just as ready

as I am for sweet breezes and sunshine.

Bring it on Arizona!